James bolan glover



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. B. GLOVER. APPARATUS FOR DETECTING IRREGULARITIES IN'RAILROAD TRACKS N0. 433,16'7J I Patented July 29, 1890.

pvibmaww e amoawl'o'z (Kw/aim 42 M- M WWW W (No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. 7 J. B. GLOVER. APPARATUS FOR DETECTING IBREGULARITIES IN RAILROAD TRACKS.

Patented July 29, 1890.

MW 40 M M UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES BOLAN GLOVER, OF MARIETTA,-GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO JOHN MALLOOH, OF ELDERSLIE, SCOTLAND.

APPARATUS FOR DETECTING IRREGULARiTIES IN RAILROAD-TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 433,167, dated July 29, 1890.

Application filed April 14, 1890. Serial No. 347,782. (No model.)

1'0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, J AMES BOLAN GLovEE, of Marietta, in the county of Cobb and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for De tecting and Marking Transverse irregularities in Railroad-Tracks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, whichform part of this specification, in which- Figure 1- is a side elevation of a railwaycar equipped with my improved devices for ascertaining transverse irregularities of the road-bed or track and for marking defective portions of the track by ejecting colored fluid or other substance thereupon, so that the attention of the track walkers and repairers will be directed thereto. Fig. 2 is a rear end view of the carshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one form of circuit maker and breaker. Fig. 4 is a detail view 2 5 of the valve-operating devices enlarged and partly in section. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of part of the circuit-maker. Fig. 6 is a side view of an improved form of circuit maker and breaker. Fig. 7 is a vertical trans- 0 verse sectional view thereof. Fig. Sis a diagrammatic view illustrating the electrical connections of the apparatus.

This invention is an improvement in mechanical devices or apparatus for ascertain- 5 ing transverse irregularities in the road-bed or track of railways and for making a record of or for marking the defective portions of thetrack, and its special object is to detect transverse irregularities of the track or the variations from a same horizontal plane of the two opposite rails of the track, and where the relative elevation of the two rails is so incorrect as to render the track rough or unsafe to automatically mark the defective portions by ejecting a colored fluid or other substance upon the sleepers at the defective side of the track.

To these ends the invention consists in the combination, with pipes through which. col- "01'6d fluid or matter from a proper receptacle can be discharged onto the sides of the roadbed or ends of the sleepers, of electrically controlled valves, which are operated automatically to regulate the discharge of fluid,

so that it escapes only upon defective portions of the track and at the defective side thereof.

The invention further consists in a novel circuit maker and breaker comprising pendulums or a pendulum so mounted as to only vibrate in a plane at right angles and perpendicular to the track, but when oscillated beyond a certain predetermined extent will establish an electrical circuit between a battery and the electrically-controlled valves.

The invention also consistsin certain other novel details of construction and arrangement of parts and all of which will be hereinafter clearly described and claimed.

In the drawings, A designates an ordinary car or four-wheeled truck, the body of which is preferably supported directly upon the axles without intervening of springs, so that it will sway laterally or oscillate with the vertical movements of the axles.

B designates a fluid-holding tank or reservoir mounted thereon.

C designatesan electric battery or apparatus for generating currents of electricity, which, as shown, is suspended in a boxing below the car-body.

D designates a horizontal bar suspended from the rear end of the truck and lying transversely of the track, and E designates jet-pipes attached to the outer ends of said bar and communicating by suitable piping F with the tank B, the escape of fluid from the tank being controlled by a valve f.

e e are valves in jet-pipes E, of ordinary construction, as shown. They are globe-valves having a conical scat closed byaconical valve on the end of a horizontal stem g, the outer end of which is connected to the end of a spring G, attached to bar D, and which forces the stem inward to close the valve. Any other desirable arrangement of springs might be used for closing the valves. 7

H II designate electro-magnets of ordinary construction respectively suspended from bar D near the valves 6 e, and with their poles h adjoining the ends of the valve-stems g, and I I are armatures fixed on the ends of stems g, which are drawn to the poles of themagnets when the latter are energized and consequently pull stems g outward and unseat the valves so long as the magnets are energized.

The magnets H are connected by wiresNN with the negative pole of the battery 0, as indicated, and by wires 13 1) with a circuit making and breaking device, which is in electrical communication by a wire P with the positive pole of the battery and by which an electrical circuit can be established from the battery through eit-her magnet H.

The circuit maker and breaker, as shown in Fig. 3, consists of a pendulum or vibrating bar J, suspended 011 a short shaft K, journaled in bearings in upper ends of two opposite brackets L L, mounted on a base-piece M, preferably made of non-conducting material and having a longitudinal slot m in it, through which the end of pendulum J depends and moves, and at opposite ends of said slot and at one side thereof are metallic pieces 0 O, with which pendulum J will contact if sufficiently vibrated. The pendulum J is connected by wire P with the battery 0, and pieces 0 are respectivelyconnected by wires 1) 1) with the armatures H, so that if the pendulum contacts with either plate an electrical circuit is established through the armature and battery so long as the contact between the pendulum and plate continues. The pendulum is preferably suspended in insulated bearings, so that there is no electrical communication between it and the brackets,

that it does not vibrate too freely, and nu ts R permit the tension of the springs to be regulated.

The circuit maker and breaker shown in Figs. 6 and 7 has two pendulums, and I consider this form preferable to the single pendulum, as it overcomes one difiiculty attending the employment of a single pendulumnamely, the momentum of the pendulum after passing over a defective portion of the track and bringing the pendulum to rest after it has made one vibration, which is sufficient to operate the valve-con trolling devices and spill the fluid.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, I use two pendulums J 2 J one for each side of the track. These two pendulums swing side by side, and arepreventcd from striking together by means of an impact-cushion J ,which is secured between the brackets and preferably covered with a yielding non-resilient material, or the cushion may be fastened to the base-plate and made of material suitable for absorbing any impact.

Referring to Fig. 6, if the side marked 3 should be suddenly lowered, the pendulum J would swing out, make the electrical cir- 'tion.

cuit, spill the colored liquid, and then return to its original position, striking against and giving up its momentum to the cushion J, so that it is immediately broughtto rest instead of making two or three unnecessary vibrations. In the same way the pendulum J will make one vibration if the side 4 be lowered, the pendulum J in the meantime remaining at rest. 7

j is a metallic spring or brush on the lower end of pendulum J and adapted to make contact with plates O,an dj is a weight adj ustably attached to pendulum J to regulate its oscilla- Plates 0 O are adjustably attached to base M by screws 0,which pass through slots in plates 0 and engage threaded openings in the base, and thus permit the plates to be set toward or from each other, so that a less or greater oscillation of the pendulum will be necessary to establish a circuit, as described.

Q, Q are index-plates attached to the base beside plates A and having a linear scale on their faces, by which the position of plates 0 relatively to the pendulum, when the latter hangs vertical in relation to the length of the base, is regulated.

The circuit maker and breaker is mounted on the front end of the car with the slot in base M transverse thereto, and so that the pendulum will hang in exactly vertical posit on when the car is on a level piece of track 7;. 0., where bot-h rails of the track are in the same horizontal plane. The pendulum thus has to swing transversely and vertically to the road-bed and track.

The operation is briefly as follows: Theapparatus mounted on the car is carried over the road ata fixed and uniform rate of speed. Owing to the mounting of the pendulum it can only swing in a plane perpendicular to and transversely of the track. Experiment has determined the fact that when so arranged the pendulum or pendulums will remain at rest and perpendicular to the plane of the track so long as the latter is mathematically and practically correct for the speed at which the caris moving,even when rounding curves. V hen, however, one side or the other of the car is elevated or depressed by irregularities in the track-rails,one pendulum moves by gravity toward the lower side of the car, and if the irregularity of the track-rails is so great as to cause the pendulum to move into contact with one of the plates 0 an electric circuit is established from the battery through one of the electro magnets, which, as described, causes the opening of a valve in a pipe leading from the fluid-reservoir on the car, and permits the escape of fluid upon the ends -of the cross-tics at that side of the track which is too low. As soon as the pendulum moves back into a vertical position the circuit is broken and the flow of liquid ceases, asthe valve is closed by counteracting springs or the action of the escaping fluid thereagainst.

In practice I do not propose mounting the apparatus on a separate car, as it can be at-- tached to any ordinary cab or to a road-masters inspection-car preferably, the tank, circuit-maker, valves, and battery being placed where convenient, and connections being made by properly leading the wires, the position of the parts not being material, provided the connections are substantially made, as in diagram Fig. 8, and that the circuitmaker be in advance of the discharge-pipes, as otherwise the motion of the train would cause the valves to pass beyond the proper place to be marked before the fluid would reach the ties.

When attached to an ordinary car, the circuit maker and breaker should be mounted on some portion of the truck, between which and the track there are no springs, or where it will be oscillated by the vibration or oscillation of the axles only. In order to expedite the flow of marking-fluid, the tank may be connected with the air-brake pipes to maintain an air-pressure therein. In some cases the contact maker and breaker might be mounted on a truck or car in advance of that which carries the tank and pipes, if the 0011- nections be maintained. An alarm W may be placed in the circuit, so that the operator on the car will know whenever the valves are opened and fluid being ejected, and recording devices of any suitable construction I might be interposed between the magnets and battery to indicate the irregularities in the respective lines of rails. Pieces 0 0 being adjustable, it is possible to mark places of only such irregularity as may be determined upon before starting the apparatus over the road. The marks left by the fluid being ejected upon the road-bed are for the information of the trackmen, so that they will work at just those places which most need attention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon is 1. In an apparatus fordetectingirregularities in the relative elevations of the rails of a railroad-track, the combination, with a car, of fluid-discharge pipes provided with electricallycontrolled or operated valves, an electric generator, and a circuit maker and breaker constructed to operate upon the oscillation of the car to control the circuit, and the wire connections between the same, and generator and valves,'arranged to operate substantially as specified.

2. A reservoir mounted upon a carortruck and discharge-pipes leading therefrom to opposite sides of the carand provided with electrically-controlled valves, and an electric generator mounted on the car, in combination with a pendulum mounted on a car or truck, so that itmust vibrate in a plane transverse to the track or road-bed, and adapted to establish electrical communication through wires leading from the gener ator to the respective valve-controlling devices when vibrated to predetermined points, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of a reservoir mounted on a car, discharge-pipes leading therefrom to each side of the car and provided with valves having armatures on the ends of their at. The combination of the discharge-pipes having valves and devices for operating the.

valves by electricity, and an electric generator, with a circuit maker and breaker comprising vibrating pendulums in electrical communication with the generator, and contact-plates connected by wires with the valvecontrolling devices, and the wire connections between said devices and the generator, whereby when a pendulum oscillates into contact with one of the plates an electrical circuit is completed between the generator and one of the valve-controlling devices and such valve opened, substantially as described.

5. A circuit maker and breaker consisting of a vertically-suspended oscillating pendu lu m connected with a generator of electricity, a pair of adjustable contact-plates at opposite sides of the pendulum, and the tensionspring and adjust-ingnuts, substantially as described, for controlling the vibrations of the pendulum, for the purpose set forth.

IOC

G. The combination of the reservoir, the

with an electric generator, the wires connecting the same with the magnets, a circuit maker and breaker comprising pendulums mounted to vibrate in a plane vertical and transverse .to the track or road-bed, and opposite plates adapted to be contacted by a pendulum when vibrated unduly, and the wire connections between the pendulums and generator and between said plates and magnets, all substantially as specified.

7. Thecombination,with a car, of the reservoir, the discharge-pipes, the electricallycontrolled valves in said pipes, an electric generator, a circuit makerv and breaker constructed to operate upon the oscillation of the car, the connections between said generator and valve-operating devices and circuit maker and breaker and between the latter and the valve-operating devices, and an electrical in- ITO dicator interposed in the circuit, whereby when the electrical circuit is closed one or the other of the valves is opened and the indicator operated also, substantially as described.

8. In a circuit maker and breaker, the combination of the vertical uprights and oscillating pendulums suspended between the up v a generator, with the impact-cush ion, and adjustable contact-plates, all substantially as set forth.

9. The herein-described apparatus for detecting irregularities in the elevation of the opposite rails of a railroad-track, comprising a fluid-reservoir mounted on a car and having pipes leading to each side thereof, valves in said pipes having armatures on their stems and springs for closing them, the electro-magnets arranged near the valves and adapted to attract the armatures and open-the valves when energized, and an electric generator and connections between the same and magnets, With a suspended pendulum having an 

